The Facilitator’s Guide

Aims of the tool

This toolkit helps young people explore gender equality and develop the skills and confidence to tell their own stories. Informed by consultations with 105 young people and experts in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Serbia, it combines ten mini-documentaries about women’s lives with five adaptable, non-formal education workshops.

Description of the tool

This toolkit aims to help young people explore gender equality, reflect on women’s lived experiences and build the confidence and skills to tell their own stories. It is the final step in a journey that began by listening to young people.

During the first phase of HERStory, Our Future, partners in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Serbia consulted 105 young people aged 18 to 30, alongside experts in each country. They explored what young people knew about gender equality, what support they needed and what prevented them from speaking up. Their answers shaped the competences this toolkit helps to develop.

From there, we went looking for stories. Together, we produced ten mini-documentaries, each approximately ten minutes long, featuring women from our countries sharing their experiences: their work, their choices, the obstacles they faced and how they responded. Their stories are very different, and that diversity is central to the toolkit. These films are its heart and the material you will work with.

Building on these stories, we designed five workshops that guide participants from watching a story to telling their own. The workshops follow a non-formal education approach: participants learn by doing, discussing and reflecting together, while the facilitator guides the process.

You can run the workshops in a youth centre, school, association or summer camp, adapting them to your group, available time and local context. You do not need to be a specialist, although some familiarity with gender issues and experience of working with groups of young people are needed.